Lectern Dialogues: Philosophical Connections: Relational Ontology and the Modern Crisis @johnvervaeke
Lectern Dialogues: Philosophical Connections: Relational Ontology and the Modern Crisis  @johnvervaeke
Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
John Vervaeke engages in a profound discussion with James Filler, author of 'Heidegger, Neoplatonism, and the History of Being'. They examine the core arguments of Jame’s book, which emphasizes relationality as more fundamental than individual existence in understanding reality. The conversation explores Neoplatonism, Heidegger's philosophy, and the convergence of these ideas with contemporary physics and biology. James recounts his journey in developing his dissertation into a pivotal work aimed at reorienting ontological perspectives. John and James also discuss the trajectory of Western and Eastern Christian thought, touching upon relational ontology's scientific and ethical ramifications.
James Filler is the author of Heidegger, Neoplatonism, and the History of Being, a groundbreaking work exploring the philosophical underpinnings of relational ontology. His forthcoming book, Substance Ontology and the Crisis of Reason deepens the critique of substance thinking in Western philosophy.

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Notes:
0:00 Welcome to the Lectern
1:00 Core themes of Heidegger, Neoplatonism, and the History of Being
3:00 Background of James Filler
5:30 Core argument of the book
10:00 The philosophical debate between Parmenides and Heraclitus
15:00 Ontological relationality and its philosophical implications
25:00 Heidegger's dialogue with Asian philosophy and the Christian trinity
34:00 Western vs. Eastern Christianity - diverging paths
40:00 A critique of Process Philosophy
48:30 The conceptual and ethical implications of historical Christian interpretations
51:30 Distinction between discursive and non-discursive reasoning
58:30 Substance ontology and the crisis of reason
1:03:00 Addressing the crisis of rationality in modernity
1:11:00 Final reflections on relationality and its broader impacts


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Lectern Dialogues: Philosophical Connections: Relational Ontology and the Modern Crisis

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